Saryo Souen
unscored · Ikyu 4.6 / 5no first-hand write-up in the thread
A tranquil, traditional ryokan near Sendai that KI-NRT names on his Tohoku recommendation list and calls a matter of taste against the larger, homier Daikon no Hana, while flagging it as quite a bit pricier. He stayed, but many years ago, and left little beyond that one impression of the atmosphere. Ikyu guests have more to say, putting it at 4.62 overall with the baths at 4.77, and their reviews return to the garden, the detached rooms and the attentive hospitality.
Scores
Food
Nobody in the thread has written about the food here, and KI-NRT's comparison with Daikon no Hana does not touch it. Dinner is kaiseki, and Ikyu guests give the meals their lowest mark at 4.55, a little under their other marks. The few reservations they voice are about dinner, both the make-up of the courses and the pace at which the meal is served.
Bath
Akiu's own sodium-calcium chloride spring feeds gender-split main baths, each with a rock-built open-air bath onto the garden, and the nine detached cottages have private open-air baths. Whether the flow is free-running is not published. KI-NRT's own comparison says nothing about the baths. Ikyu guests make them the best-liked part of the stay (4.77), praising the bathhouse and the cottage rotenburo.
Service
Nobody in the thread has written about the service. Ikyu guests put it at 4.64, in line with their other marks, and describe attentive staff who keep a discreet distance, close at hand when needed and never hovering, and the warmest reviews call the whole stay close to perfect.
Room
Nobody in the thread has written about the rooms. On Ikyu the detached rooms are what guests talk about, looking onto the inner garden with their own open-air baths, which reviews repeatedly call spacious. The rooms draw 4.59 from Ikyu guests, a little under their other marks.
Place 4 / 5
KI-NRT found it more tranquil and traditional than Daikon no Hana, and that is all he has said, from a stay many years ago, so treat the impression as dated. Ikyu guests fill in the picture with a beautiful inner garden that the detached rooms look onto, polished corridors and deep quiet, and there is no guest lounge.
Getting there
- Sendai — ~0h35, 1 transfer (estimated). Akiu Onsen is roughly 30-40 min by car or shuttle bus from JR Sendai Station.
- Tokyo — ~2h20, 1 transfer (estimated). Tohoku Shinkansen Hayabusa from Tokyo to Sendai is about 1h30, then roughly 40 min by car out to Akiu Onsen.
Sources
Ikyu 4.62 / 5 · #401 · #404 · #501 (thread mentions)